Mystery at the Horse Show: Giddy Up Girls #1

By Jordan Olerud, Rachelle Sheets and Rose Beede

Jordan, her service dog Baker, her nurse Emma and her sister Jessica are excited about traveling to Arizona where they will visit an Arabian horse show and stay at a real dude ranch. But their adventure quickly turns into a mystery when a horse goes missing at the show and strange things keep happening at the ranch. Can the girls and Baker solve th

• Language: English
• Publisher: Giddy Up Girls Publishing, Inc.
• Release date: Sep 3, 2014
• ISBN: 9780990533016

Book preview

MYSTERY AT THE HORSE SHOW

WRITTEN BY

JORDAN OLERUD

AND

RACHELLE SHEETS

Illustrations by Rose Beede

Giddy Up Girls Publishing, Inc.

Medina, Washington

Copyright © 2014 by Giddy Up Girls Publishing, Inc.

Giddy Up Girls is a trademark of Giddy Up Girls Publishing, Inc.

All rights reserved, including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form.

ISBN 978-0-9905330-0-9 (paperback)

ISBN 978-0-9905330-1-6 (ebook)

Cover art by Rose Beede

This book is dedicated to my beautiful sister, Jessica. I love that you are so joyful and full of energy and enthusiasm. Our time together is always a grand adventure. I’m blessed to have such a wonderful sister. Love,

There are many people to whom we owe thanks for helping with this project:

First, thanks to Jordan’s parents, John and Kelly Olerud, for believing that we could actually write a book together, and for supporting us throughout the project. We are grateful to Jordan’s sister, Jessica, whose input on plot and character development was invaluable. Thanks also to Jordan’s brother, Garrett, for his photography, which was the basis for the cover art.

A heartfelt thanks goes to Rachelle’s dear friend, Chris Geranen, our favorite travel companion who is always ready to explore with us.

We thank the crew at the Lee Barn, especially Phyllis Dunmire, Jill Lewis, and Carli Belouskas. Our time spent with them and Jill’s beautiful mare, Secret, inspired us to write our first adventure about Arabian horses. Carli’s beauty and grace both on and off her horse continue to inspire us.

Thanks to our favorite dog trainer, Terri Smith, and to her puppy class assistant, Claudia Peters, for reading the manuscript and for giving us input which helped make the book more accurate and easier to read.

Thanks to Deb Peet-Walker, Jordan’s physical therapist and hippotherapy specialist, for helping us to incorporate therapeutic riding into the story.

Special thanks go to Lisa Bedient and Leigh-Ann Kindberg, along with all of the marvelous staff at Tanque Verde Ranch in Tucson, Arizona. They helped us to have our own great adventure while we were researching for this book.

Thanks to the very talented Rose Beede for her beautiful illustrations and cover design. Thanks to Drew Streeter for his editing services, which improved this book immensely from its original unedited form. Thanks to Mark Dobratz for his formatting and layout services.

We owe thanks to Jordan’s amazing nurse, Suzy Rotunna, for suggesting the name Giddy Up Girls for our book series.

Finally, we thank our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, who loves us and has given us abundant and eternal life.

I will give thanks to You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Wonderful are Your works, and my soul knows it very well.

- Psalm 139:14

Table of Contents

1. The Plane Ride

2. Going to the Show

3. Lee Barn

4. Secret

5. Carli’s Friend

6. The Barbeque

7. Bad News

8. Trail Ride

9. A Nasty Note

10. Some Strange Discoveries

11. Clues

12. A Mysterious Horse

13. Thief Caught!

14. Grand Champion

Prologue

The nervous figure slipped into the dining room as silently as the squeaky screen door would allow. A quick look around the room revealed just one waitress who was heading into the kitchen. Good, not a guest in sight! This is my chance, the intruder thought. It didn’t take long to locate the right table. The plain white envelope was carefully propped against the reservation sign. The warning should scare the nosy outsiders away, and then the plan would work without a hitch. Everything depended on it.

CHAPTER 1

The Plane Ride

There she is! Jordan was the first to spot her nurse Emma as she entered the boarding area with her family. They were at Sea-Tac International Airport in Seattle, Washington and had just arrived at their departure gate where they were meeting Emma.

I see her! exclaimed Jordan’s sister, Jessica, as she ran ahead and jumped up to give Emma a hug.

Hi, Jessica. Wow! You sure are getting tall, and I see you’re still as energetic as ever!

Eight-year-old Jessica was known for her bubbly and joyful personality. She never just walked anywhere, but danced or bounced everywhere she went. It made everyone around her smile to see her enthusiasm, and Emma happily noticed some other passengers in the boarding area smiling at them now.

Are you ready for our big adventure? Emma asked. Jordan and Jessica were traveling with Emma to her home in Phoenix, Arizona. She had just flown up to Seattle on an earlier flight to meet the girls at the airport. This would be Jessica’s first trip away from her parents.

Yep! I’m ready! Jessica answered with a confident smile.

Just then Jordan and her parents caught up to Jessica, and Emma bent down to greet her very special friend.

At twelve years old, Jordan was used to traveling without her family. She had been born with a unique genetic make-up that caused her to have some special challenges and abilities. Because she had been sick a lot when she was younger, Jordan needed a nurse to help care for her. Emma had been Jordan’s private nurse since she was a baby.

Jordan’s family lived in Arizona back then, but they had moved to Seattle before Jessica was born. By the time they moved, Jordan and Emma had grown to love each other, so Emma regularly traveled to be with Jordan in Seattle, and often Jordan traveled with her back to Arizona to spend some time in the sunny weather with Emma and her family.

Jordan had become part of Emma’s family over the years, and so she blessed two families with her adventurous spirit and her witty sense of humor.

Hi, Emma! I hope you’re ready for this! Jess and I just might run you ragged! Jordan greeted Emma with her usual bright smile as they hugged warmly and Emma patted Baker on the head.

Baker is Jordan’s service dog, and he always goes everywhere that she goes. A sturdy Golden Retriever, he was trained to help Jordan balance by wearing a special harness she can hold on to while walking. He also brings her things she needs when she’s sitting in her wheelchair.

Jordan and Baker share a special talent. Jordan loves to play with balls, and she can keep a ball spinning between her hands for a long time. The first time she met Baker, she knew he was the right dog for her when he lay down beside her and spun a tennis ball between his paws.

I’m sure you two will wear me out, but I am ready for some girl time, Emma said with a smile.

Emma and her husband, Dan, have two older sons, but sometimes Emma likes to spend time with the girls. Like her, they enjoy shopping and fashion. Emma especially likes to style the girls’ hair and paint their nails with fancy designs.

Emma stood up to greet Jordan and Jessica’s mom and dad. Well, are you guys ready for this? This is the first time both girls will be leaving you for a week.

Jessica’s very excited, John, their father, said. Jordan is looking forward to having her sister come along on this adventure. We think you’ll all have a great time, but it will be quiet around here with both girls gone.

We packed everything on the list, their mother, Kelly, laughed. You girls sure did want to bring a lot of clothes!

Where’s Garrett? Emma asked. Didn’t he come to see the girls off?

Garrett is